I'm going to go to US for a long business trip, during which I'm going to meet a lot of people. Some of them are senior managers; others are day-to-day colleagues.
I want to know how to greet people in different ways: formal things to say to a manager, and casual things to say to co-workers.
I don't know if it's appropriate to say these to your leaders:
wassup / How's it goin'
Very informal greetings such as "wassup" are best left to close aquaintances, when more formal greetings start to become more awkward. When meeting fellow business people for the first time – even peers – I think a more formal yet pleasant, "Hello, nice to meet you," would be much more appropriate.
If you're concerned about sounding too much like a pull-string toy with only one greeting, here are some variations:
Also, if they give the first greeting ("Hi, my name is Dave."), you can simply respond with something like, "My pleasure. John." as you shake their hand. (Sometimes facial expressions and body language will leave a more lasting impression than whatever words you say. Be genuinely glad to meet them, and you should be fine.)
"Hello, I'm John" is very common in the US. Telling people your name is less important in the UK, where somebody else is likely to introduce you. Whichever way, you can not go wrong with this greeting with any English person. You can also use the word 'Hi', rather than hello.
More informal in the US is to say 'hi, how you doing?', which is often not seen as a real question. They do not really want to know how you are, beyond a simple response of 'good'. Then you can say, "Hello, I'm John" (if they do not know you) or just start a conversation.
Man walks into a bar...
Barman: 'Hi, how you doing?' You: 'Good. Can I have a pint of beer?'
Man walks into a meeting...
You: 'Hello, I am John?' CEO: 'Nice to meet you John, how long have you been in the US?' You: 'We arrived yesterday, [insert polite observation about the place/culture/weather]'
More informal greeting should be kept to your friends, each clique will have its own informal greeting. Just stick to Hi or Hello until that is establish by the English speaker.
Americans for the most part are uncomfortable with status distinctions in the phatic elements of discourse: both deference to superiors and insolence or condescension to inferiors are deprecated. As J.R. suggests, intimacy/distance is a more important differentiator, which will not come into play on a first encounter.
This does not of course mean that there are no status distinctions, just that they are observed more in the substance of discourse: don't contradict the CEO and senior management, don't ask them potentially embarrassing questions, let them “lead”—determine where the conversation will go.
